24 may 2018
Twenty-six Palestine student societies at UK universities have issued a statement demanding the UK government to stop arms sales to Israel and denouncing the massacre of unarmed protestors in Gaza.
The statement came following a deadly crackdown mounted by the Israeli military against Palestinian demonstrators on May 14th, which witnessed the official opening of the US embassy in occupied Jerusalem, a day before the 70th anniversary of Nakba –attacking the ongoing six-week protest demanding the Right of Return.
“The UK government continues to approve arms sales to Israel, in defiance of its own export guidelines, while it imports Israeli combat-proven military hardware.” The statement said.
The societies slammed Israel’s continuing violence against those participating for the eighth week in the Great March of Return, which so far claimed approximately a hundred protestors including journalists and women, and injured thousands.
They called on the government “to introduce an embargo on its two-way arms trade with Israel ending its century of crimes against the Palestinian people,” and its complicity in the occupation, while urging university students in Britain to join the campaign to divest their universities from any corporation profiting from Israel’s military occupation.
President of the Palestine Society in the University of Aberdeen, Sarah Schröder, told MEMO: “After 70 years of the Nakba, we must do everything to prevent more catastrophes in Palestine.”
“As students in the UK we feel a responsibility to stand with Palestinians and become active to stop further weapons sales to Israel and university investments in Israel.”
Since the 30th of March this year, Palestinian have been protesting under the Great March of Return to highlight their internationally recognized right of return to their homes.
President of City University Palsoc, Abdelrahman al-Tamimi said that more must be done by the UK government to curb Israeli aggression.
"We need to remind everyone of the continuous crimes committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people," he said.
President of Warwick Friends of Palestine Society, Yasmin Huleileh, said that “It is not enough for people to be by-standers and wait to be educated about Palestine-Israel politics. It is a modern example of injustice, human rights deprivation, colonization, and a brutal occupation. To put it simply, if you support human rights, help end the occupation.”
The signatories of the statement:
City University Palestinian Society
UCL Friends Of Palestine
Aberdeen University Palestine Society
University of Leeds - Palestine Solidarity Group
SOAS university Palestine society
Exeter University Friends of Palestine Society
Queen Mary Friends of Palestine
Brunel University London Friends of Palestine Society
KCL Action Palestine
Strathclyde Students for Palestine Society
Cambridge University Palestine Society
University of Bristol Friends of Palestine
Goldsmiths Palestine Society
BDS campaign University of Manchester
Sussex Friends of Palestine society
Warwick Friends of Palestine Society
Aston University Palestine Society
Glasgow University Palestine Society
Sheffield Hallam Palestine Society
University of Sheffield Palestine Society
SGUL Palestine society
Westminster students for Palestine society
The Palestine society university of Nottingham
Oxford Students' Palestine Society
Keel Friends of Palestine
University of York Palestinian Solidarity Society
The statement came following a deadly crackdown mounted by the Israeli military against Palestinian demonstrators on May 14th, which witnessed the official opening of the US embassy in occupied Jerusalem, a day before the 70th anniversary of Nakba –attacking the ongoing six-week protest demanding the Right of Return.
“The UK government continues to approve arms sales to Israel, in defiance of its own export guidelines, while it imports Israeli combat-proven military hardware.” The statement said.
The societies slammed Israel’s continuing violence against those participating for the eighth week in the Great March of Return, which so far claimed approximately a hundred protestors including journalists and women, and injured thousands.
They called on the government “to introduce an embargo on its two-way arms trade with Israel ending its century of crimes against the Palestinian people,” and its complicity in the occupation, while urging university students in Britain to join the campaign to divest their universities from any corporation profiting from Israel’s military occupation.
President of the Palestine Society in the University of Aberdeen, Sarah Schröder, told MEMO: “After 70 years of the Nakba, we must do everything to prevent more catastrophes in Palestine.”
“As students in the UK we feel a responsibility to stand with Palestinians and become active to stop further weapons sales to Israel and university investments in Israel.”
Since the 30th of March this year, Palestinian have been protesting under the Great March of Return to highlight their internationally recognized right of return to their homes.
President of City University Palsoc, Abdelrahman al-Tamimi said that more must be done by the UK government to curb Israeli aggression.
"We need to remind everyone of the continuous crimes committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people," he said.
President of Warwick Friends of Palestine Society, Yasmin Huleileh, said that “It is not enough for people to be by-standers and wait to be educated about Palestine-Israel politics. It is a modern example of injustice, human rights deprivation, colonization, and a brutal occupation. To put it simply, if you support human rights, help end the occupation.”
The signatories of the statement:
City University Palestinian Society
UCL Friends Of Palestine
Aberdeen University Palestine Society
University of Leeds - Palestine Solidarity Group
SOAS university Palestine society
Exeter University Friends of Palestine Society
Queen Mary Friends of Palestine
Brunel University London Friends of Palestine Society
KCL Action Palestine
Strathclyde Students for Palestine Society
Cambridge University Palestine Society
University of Bristol Friends of Palestine
Goldsmiths Palestine Society
BDS campaign University of Manchester
Sussex Friends of Palestine society
Warwick Friends of Palestine Society
Aston University Palestine Society
Glasgow University Palestine Society
Sheffield Hallam Palestine Society
University of Sheffield Palestine Society
SGUL Palestine society
Westminster students for Palestine society
The Palestine society university of Nottingham
Oxford Students' Palestine Society
Keel Friends of Palestine
University of York Palestinian Solidarity Society
27 apr 2018
Thousands of Palestinians gathered at the Gaza-Israel border today in several locations in the north, east and south of Gaza, for the fifth week of Friday protests.
Three Palestinians were killed today, and 611 injured by Israeli forces stationed at the border firing both live ammunition and so-called ‘less-than-lethal’ weaponry.
Of the 611 wounded, 154 were struck by live ammunition fired by Israeli soldiers at the border. No Israeli soldiers were wounded.
According to Ashraf al-Qidra of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 18 medics and medical personnel were among those wounded on Friday.
al-Qidra added that Israeli forces specifically targeted medical service points twice with an unidentified gas east of the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. This appeared to be a new type of gas that caused those who inhaled it to suffer from severe convulsions. A number of these victims had to be hospitalized.
The demonstration is called the ‘Great Return March’, and is meant to bring attention to the fact that millions of Palestinians are imprisoned in the Gaza Strip, unable to return to their homes in what is now Israel.
Palestinians make up the largest refugee population on earth.
Israeli troops again opened fire on the unarmed protesters, as they have done each Friday since the protests began on march 30th.
Since March 30th, Israeli forces have killed forty three Palestinian protesters, and wounded more than five thousand.
An international outcry against the continued shooting of civilian protesters has not reached the US, where politicians have been largely silent on the issue.
Irish and South African politicians have been leading the call for justice for Palestinians, calling the Israeli government an ‘apartheid state’ much like South Africa in the 1980s.
In response to Israel’s fifth straight week of attacking unarmed demonstrators at the border, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, issued a statement that, “The loss of life is deplorable, and the staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators – not once, not twice, but repeatedly”.
Update: “Israeli Army Kills Three In Gaza, Injures 995”
Three Palestinians were killed today, and 611 injured by Israeli forces stationed at the border firing both live ammunition and so-called ‘less-than-lethal’ weaponry.
Of the 611 wounded, 154 were struck by live ammunition fired by Israeli soldiers at the border. No Israeli soldiers were wounded.
According to Ashraf al-Qidra of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 18 medics and medical personnel were among those wounded on Friday.
al-Qidra added that Israeli forces specifically targeted medical service points twice with an unidentified gas east of the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. This appeared to be a new type of gas that caused those who inhaled it to suffer from severe convulsions. A number of these victims had to be hospitalized.
The demonstration is called the ‘Great Return March’, and is meant to bring attention to the fact that millions of Palestinians are imprisoned in the Gaza Strip, unable to return to their homes in what is now Israel.
Palestinians make up the largest refugee population on earth.
Israeli troops again opened fire on the unarmed protesters, as they have done each Friday since the protests began on march 30th.
Since March 30th, Israeli forces have killed forty three Palestinian protesters, and wounded more than five thousand.
An international outcry against the continued shooting of civilian protesters has not reached the US, where politicians have been largely silent on the issue.
Irish and South African politicians have been leading the call for justice for Palestinians, calling the Israeli government an ‘apartheid state’ much like South Africa in the 1980s.
In response to Israel’s fifth straight week of attacking unarmed demonstrators at the border, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, issued a statement that, “The loss of life is deplorable, and the staggering number of injuries caused by live ammunition only confirms the sense that excessive force has been used against demonstrators – not once, not twice, but repeatedly”.
Update: “Israeli Army Kills Three In Gaza, Injures 995”
17 apr 2018
|
|
To find out more about the ways the EU is funding Israeli military companies watch this video:
Today, on the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian Political Prisoners, more than 150 European trade unions, political parties, human rights organizations and faith groups from over 16 European countries have issued a call urging the EU to uphold its legal responsibilities and exclude Israeli military companies from EU Framework Programs. This call – accompanied by a video briefing – comes at a time when at least 35 unarmed Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli snipers during three weeks of protests at Gaza’s border with Israel. |
The 150 strong list of signatories includes, according to the PNN, 20 signatories from Ireland, including political parties Sinn Féin, Solidarity, People Before Profit and the Communist Party, trade union organisations like TSSA and Dublin and Derry trades unions councils, NGOs like Afri, the Africa Centre and Centre for Global Education, solidarity groups like the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Sadaka and Academics for Palestine, and other anti-war, anti-racist and social justice organisations.
From the rest of Europe, it includes the European Network Against Arms Trade – a network of 18 organisations from 13 European countries, the National Federation of Railway Workers, Transport Workers, Officials and Employees of Luxembourg, Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees, Comisiones Obreras and CGT in the Spanish State, La Centrale Generale FGTB in Belgium, UNISON in Britain and the north of Ireland, the Belgian Workers Party, Podemos in the Spanish State, déi Lénk in Luxembourg, a global Catholic peace movement Pax Christi International, Friends of the Earth Finland, Human Rights League in France and Kairos Sabeel in the Netherlands and UK among others. See here for letter and full list of signatories.
The signatories stress that “European taxpayers’ money is being channeled to military companies, among them many Israeli corporations, under the disguise of research and a promise that the technologies and techniques developed will be used solely for civilian purposes.”
The call states that “one of the ways in which arms and military companies have gained access to EU funding is through the current EU Program for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020. This includes many Israeli military companies. Although the EU claims that research funds have gone only to projects with civilian applications, many of the projects approved are of dual-use nature serving military interests as well. Many others serve policies that curb or violate refugees’ rights and militarize our societies.”
The signatories call on the EU to immediately exclude all Israeli military and security companies from the EU framework programs, given that an analysis of past projects has shown that their participation in these programs inherently involves EU support for the development and legitimization of, and profiting from, technology and methodology used by Israel in the commission of war crimes and human rights violations.
Already in 2015 a coalition of 30 Palestinian trade unions and civil society organisations have called on the EU to exclude Israeli military companies from Horizon 2020. Also in 2015, Members of the European Parliament issued similar call.
“Public and governmental bodies must respect their obligations under international law and their own constitutions. It is time for European citizens to demand that not a penny more of their tax money be gifted to Israeli military and security corporations and institutions. It’s also beyond time for national governments to pressure the EU on its political and ethical inconsistencies, and for the EU to respect its own legislation” – said Ana Sanchez, international campaigns officer for Palestinian Boycott National Committee, one of the signatories of the call.
Aneta Jerska from the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine concluded: “It is empowering and heartening to see so many European trade unions, civil society organisations and representative bodies publicly demanding the end of EU’s support for Israel’s violations of international law and human rights abuses. This is a powerful sign that European public opinion is well aware that Israel has been occupying and colonising Palestine by military means in breach of UN resolutions and International Law, and by speaking out like this clearly conveying the message that we refuse to remain complicit.”
From the rest of Europe, it includes the European Network Against Arms Trade – a network of 18 organisations from 13 European countries, the National Federation of Railway Workers, Transport Workers, Officials and Employees of Luxembourg, Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees, Comisiones Obreras and CGT in the Spanish State, La Centrale Generale FGTB in Belgium, UNISON in Britain and the north of Ireland, the Belgian Workers Party, Podemos in the Spanish State, déi Lénk in Luxembourg, a global Catholic peace movement Pax Christi International, Friends of the Earth Finland, Human Rights League in France and Kairos Sabeel in the Netherlands and UK among others. See here for letter and full list of signatories.
The signatories stress that “European taxpayers’ money is being channeled to military companies, among them many Israeli corporations, under the disguise of research and a promise that the technologies and techniques developed will be used solely for civilian purposes.”
The call states that “one of the ways in which arms and military companies have gained access to EU funding is through the current EU Program for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020. This includes many Israeli military companies. Although the EU claims that research funds have gone only to projects with civilian applications, many of the projects approved are of dual-use nature serving military interests as well. Many others serve policies that curb or violate refugees’ rights and militarize our societies.”
The signatories call on the EU to immediately exclude all Israeli military and security companies from the EU framework programs, given that an analysis of past projects has shown that their participation in these programs inherently involves EU support for the development and legitimization of, and profiting from, technology and methodology used by Israel in the commission of war crimes and human rights violations.
Already in 2015 a coalition of 30 Palestinian trade unions and civil society organisations have called on the EU to exclude Israeli military companies from Horizon 2020. Also in 2015, Members of the European Parliament issued similar call.
“Public and governmental bodies must respect their obligations under international law and their own constitutions. It is time for European citizens to demand that not a penny more of their tax money be gifted to Israeli military and security corporations and institutions. It’s also beyond time for national governments to pressure the EU on its political and ethical inconsistencies, and for the EU to respect its own legislation” – said Ana Sanchez, international campaigns officer for Palestinian Boycott National Committee, one of the signatories of the call.
Aneta Jerska from the European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine concluded: “It is empowering and heartening to see so many European trade unions, civil society organisations and representative bodies publicly demanding the end of EU’s support for Israel’s violations of international law and human rights abuses. This is a powerful sign that European public opinion is well aware that Israel has been occupying and colonising Palestine by military means in breach of UN resolutions and International Law, and by speaking out like this clearly conveying the message that we refuse to remain complicit.”
Pictures posted on social media networks show a group of Israeli settlers standing at military watchtowers overseeing Gaza borders, laughing and cheering as Israeli snipers gun down peaceful protesters.
In snapshots taken from Nahal Oz settlement, east of the blockaded Gaza Strip, and published on Twitter by Israel’s Channel 2 correspondent, Israeli settlers appear to bust into hysterical laughter as unarmed protesters on the Gaza border are fatally shot and injured by the Israeli military.
The correspondent commented on the pictures as follows: “The best show in the country ever. . . Nahal Oz settlers standing on the hillside”.
The photos sparked widespread condemnation on social media.
The Middle East Monitor newspaper said the pictures come at a time when the Palestinians have been striving to heal their wounds after 35 were killed and thousands wounded in Israeli aggressions on the Great March of Return protests.
The newspaper also said that Israeli occupation forces used strange and unknown gases against unarmed, peaceful protesters on Gaza borders.
Unmanned drones were used to drop the gas on the demonstrators. The gases caused protesters’ bodies to convulse and tremble. Many lost consciousness.
In snapshots taken from Nahal Oz settlement, east of the blockaded Gaza Strip, and published on Twitter by Israel’s Channel 2 correspondent, Israeli settlers appear to bust into hysterical laughter as unarmed protesters on the Gaza border are fatally shot and injured by the Israeli military.
The correspondent commented on the pictures as follows: “The best show in the country ever. . . Nahal Oz settlers standing on the hillside”.
The photos sparked widespread condemnation on social media.
The Middle East Monitor newspaper said the pictures come at a time when the Palestinians have been striving to heal their wounds after 35 were killed and thousands wounded in Israeli aggressions on the Great March of Return protests.
The newspaper also said that Israeli occupation forces used strange and unknown gases against unarmed, peaceful protesters on Gaza borders.
Unmanned drones were used to drop the gas on the demonstrators. The gases caused protesters’ bodies to convulse and tremble. Many lost consciousness.
11 apr 2018
Head of British Labour Jeremy Corbyn has said that Britain should consider halting the sale of arms to Israel, after nine more Palestinians lost their lives on the Gaza border.
In a message read at a demonstration outside Downing Street yesterday, Corbyn condemned the violence as an “outrage”, and attacked Western silence over the deaths.
“The killing and wounding of yet more unarmed Palestinian protesters yesterday by Israeli forces in Gaza is an outrage,” the statement read. “They have a right to protest against their appalling conditions and the continuing blockade and occupation of Palestinian land, and in support of their right to return to their homes and their right to self-determination.”
A journalist was reported among the dead, on Friday, as Israeli troops opened fire during the second round of mass protests in eight days. Hundreds more were injured.
Protesters in Gaza have taken to the streets twice for the “March of Return” demonstrations, over Palestinians’ demand for a right of return to land lost to Israeli occupation in 1948.
31 Palestinians were killed and about 3,000 were wounded as Israeli occupation forces opened live fire against protesters.
In a message read at a demonstration outside Downing Street yesterday, Corbyn condemned the violence as an “outrage”, and attacked Western silence over the deaths.
“The killing and wounding of yet more unarmed Palestinian protesters yesterday by Israeli forces in Gaza is an outrage,” the statement read. “They have a right to protest against their appalling conditions and the continuing blockade and occupation of Palestinian land, and in support of their right to return to their homes and their right to self-determination.”
A journalist was reported among the dead, on Friday, as Israeli troops opened fire during the second round of mass protests in eight days. Hundreds more were injured.
Protesters in Gaza have taken to the streets twice for the “March of Return” demonstrations, over Palestinians’ demand for a right of return to land lost to Israeli occupation in 1948.
31 Palestinians were killed and about 3,000 were wounded as Israeli occupation forces opened live fire against protesters.
